Audemars Piguet age determination from 1972
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Audemars, Piguet & CIE
Audemars, Piguet & Cie was founded in 1875 by Jules Audemars and Edward Piguet, both from families of fine watchmakers. The company produced numerous high-quality and complicated watches, predominantly made of nickel and, with a few exceptions, entirely set with precious stones. Their complicated watches are more sought after than mere pocket and wristwatches.
Jules Audemars was born in Le Brassus in 1851 and trained under local master watchmakers. After completing his apprenticeship, he began working as a repairer. In 1874, he moved to Gimel and opened a small shop, but he was not as successful as he had hoped. Shortly thereafter, he returned to Le Brassus, hoping to find a position more suited to his skills.
Edward August Piguet was born in 1853 and received a similar education to his future partner. He became a repairer under the guidance of Charles Capt. In 1875, the two met in Le Brassus and began an unofficial collaboration. In 1880, they moved their business to Geneva. In 1882, the name "Audemars, Piguet & Cie" was finally registered in Bern as a manufacturer of watch movements and watch cases.
Jules Audemars was the technical director, and Edward Piguet was the financial specialist. This division of labor benefited them for many years, and they worked together until 1918, when Audemars died at the age of 67. Piguet died the following year. The name Audemars Piguet became synonymous with extremely high quality, extremely thin movements, and incredible complications.
Age determination of Audemars Piguet watches by movement number until 1980:
| Date | Serial # |
|
1882 |
2,000 |
| 1890 |
4,000 |
| 1895 | 5,350 |
| 1900 | 6,500 |
| 1905 | 9,500 |
| 1910 | 13,000 |
| 1915 | 17,000 |
| 1920 | 25,000 |
| 1925 | 33,000 |
| 1930 | 40,000 |
| 1935 | 42,000 |
| 1940 | 44,000 |
| 1945 | 48,000 |
| 1950 | 55,000 |
| 1955 | 65,000 |
| 1960 | 75,000 |
| 1965 | 90,000 |
| 1970 | 115,000 |
| 1975 | 160,000 |
| 1980 | 225,000 |
watchlimit.com reports from 1951:
Audemars Piguet produces around 40,000 watches annually. Each watch bears a unique sequence of numbers on the case back.
Since 1975, these numbers have been preceded by a letter that changes after every 100,000 watches. Given the production rate, this letter typically changes every 2.5 to 3 years.
The year of manufacture can be estimated based on the serial number, as this changes approximately every three years:
| From | To | start | End Approx. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | 105393 | 1951 | 1976 |
| B1 | B99999 | 1975 | 1990 |
| C1 | C99999 | 1984 | 1995 |
| D1 | D99999 | 1991 | 2000 |
| E1 | E99999 | 1998 | 2010 |
| F1 | F99999 | 2003 | 2010 |
| G1 | G99999 | 2009 | 2015 |
| H1 | H99999 | 2011 | 2015 |
| I 1 | I 99999 | 2013 | 2020 |
| J1 | J99999 | 2015 | 2020 |
Source: Ashlandwatches
The age of an Audemars Piguet watch can be determined by its serial number. This applies to all models from 1972 onwards. On the back of an Audemars Piguet, two different references are usually visible; for age determination, we are only interested in the information in the format "letter followed by a 5-digit number" (e.g., A12345).
The following information is not intended to be mathematically precise, but it is certainly a fairly reliable approximation...
Serie A --> from 1972 to 1975
Serie B --> from 1976 to 1979
Series C --> from 1980 to 1986
Series D --> from 1987 to 1994
Series E --> from 1994 to 2000
Series F --> from 2001 to 2007
Series G--> from 2008 to 2010
Series H--> from 2011 to 2013
Series I --> from 2013 to today
Source: Watch forum on the Internet, watchlimit.com, ashlandwatches.com